Late night ravings

[kingandy]

Leeds Festival: Good thing.

Saw many bands that were good. High points: Goldie Lookin Chain, Ash, The Darkness, and A, a band that had one hit about three years ago and whose album I recently happened across on somebody else's shared drive at work - and highly enjoyed. By some fluke of synchronicity they happened to be playing at the festival, which meant that against all odds I was at a side stage while ghostbritain was at the main (watching the SWhite Stripes). Tattoo.

Low points: Being rained on. The sheer size of the site. Getting ditched.

I was kind of hoping to catch Greenday, but the only other person interested in catching it was renniek, who had become separated from us at some point during the evening. So when they started playing I found myself with ghostbritain, arwel and mrssshhh, who encouraged me to strike out on my own while they went to see The Kills. This did not appeal to me particularly since it was the first night of my first festival and I was worried about finding them again and also being alone with 10,000 other people, being self-conscious about whether or not I should tap my feet. After I conveyed this with words the lads replied, You should not let others determine your actions! Do not follow others around! ghostbritain in particular said, "At my first festival I followed others around, and it ruined it for me. I always wished I had gone to see who I wanted to see." Which perhaps explains what happened next.

"The Kills do not start for another half hour," said ghostbritain, "And Green Day are already playing! We can walk you there, and drop you off."

"I do not need dropping off like a school child," I replied with wit and irony, as is my idiom. "But if The Kills do not begin for some time yet, we could catch some of the Green Day and then be along in time for your heavy rock indie two-piece to begin their set." (This was not my precise phrasing as I knew none of these technical words at the time, but it was my general gist, and such dramatic embellishment avoids a third clumsy repetition of the band name.)

"Fair do's," agreed ghostbritain, and we four proceeded directly to the main stage. There we found the Green Day, and they did play! They were playing one of their famous Rock Tunes, and they did play it exactly as it appears on the album. I craned my neck forward to see if I could make out the tiny figures so far away and possibly relate them to the faces on the video screen, focussing on this task for but a moment as I hummed to the music and tapped my foot.

I turned my head, and realised my friends were gone.

It did not take another moment for me to deduce what had happened. Obviously ghostbritain had recalled his first festival experience, and oh the regret he had at not striking out on his own! In an inspired show of generosity, he had encouraged his fellow veterans to scarper into the night, leaving me with no recourse but to enjoy the band of my choice, and experience a whole new plateau of musical euphoria! Like a mother bird gently nudging her babies from the nest for the first time, their sacrifice would allow me to spread my wings and soar to new artistic highs.

In fact I did not realise this at the time, this only became clear in hindsight. In fact all I was thinking was "Cock! Fuck shit sod cunt! Fan-fucking-tastic! Fucking cunts!" I tried to watch Greenday for a bit longer, but the fun had basically been taken out of it, being as I was driven inchoate with rage.^[1] Recalling arwel's mention of the Kills playing on the Carling stage, I immediately^[2] strode over there and gave ghostbritain a slap upside the head.

See, while abandonment and enforced experience may have been the best thing for ghostbritain (and possibly even a major feature of his formative years), there are certain fundamental differences between the two of us. The primary relevant one being (I thought of this next bit while storming across the festival site, and didn't get to say it to his face, so I saved it up for now): ghostbritain lived and breathed music at that point in his life. Even now he can't get to sleep without an hour or more of his selected album of the day playing. I listen to Greenday in the car. Occasionally. Really, I wasn't there for the music, though that was a happy side effect (and certainly by the end of the weekend I was heading off by myself to stand alone in a crowd listening to my band of choice). I was there for the company. And that company had made me feel like - no, had literally made me an outcast. So, yeah, I was a bit peeved.

Anyway. I'm mostly over it now, as I like to keep my friends and am not one to hold a grudge, but I felt I needed to get it off my chest. And ghostbritain did seem genuinely shocked and contrite when I turned up less than pleased. So I shan't mention it again. I may get in a couple more jabs or just be a shade more harsh in his general direction for a bit though, as I don't want him to think he's got away scot free. Even if he did give me chocolate.

ps We are not a couple.


pps OMG who is gowhonker! My only clues are

• His/her friends list appears to be a stripped-down version of ghostbritain's
• He/she is using the same journal layout as ghostbritain
• He/she started posting after ghostbritain stopped
• He/she seems to have the exact same writing style as ghostbritain

upon examining the evidence I have concluded that the only person capable of arranging this is wulfboy, playing some sort of esoteric practical joke on everybody. He murdered ghostbritain on Thursday and wore his skin as a suit during Leeds festival. DAMN YOU RAFFERTY.

It is late and having OD'd on caffiene in order to safely drive home at 3AM I am unable to sleep. However this does not make my any more coherent. So I will stop typing now god damnit. (Note that I typed this paragraph before I added the massive great cut above. So much for sticking to my guns.)

---

[1] Well, I say rage because it fits the sentence. It was really a mixture of intensely annoyed, moderately upset, and generally hurt. But then, I'm not the most impartial observer, ghostbritain certainly said I looked angry when I found him. ("This is a new side to you! I've never seen you genuinely angry about anything before...")

[2] Actually I strode over there, failed to spot them, then strode over to the Dance Tent as I was afraid I had misheard arwel and we'd seemed on the verge of going in there immediately before we went over to the main stage, and then I decided that yes, arwel had indeed said "Carling Stage" and even if he hadn't I would bloody well enjoy whoever was there whether they liked it or not, and strode back over there where I found them.

Comments

[rich-bull.livejournal.com]

Aw, a budding flower lost in a landscape of rocker(ie)s, blooming heck. Nook was probably just letting you branch out thinking you would take a leaf out of his book. A quick shoot to the bush might have planted the seeds of doubt as to the validity of his choice and now I'll stop wittering as it makes little sense and gardening is for plants.

[gowhonker.livejournal.com]

So, following your logic, you should never mention thsi to Noom again, but should be harsh to Andy Raff.

Works for me...

[kingandy]

Ah ... the classic four-layered triple bluff with Gypsy Switch variation.

YOU CAN'T FOOL ME, POLLEY.

[wulfboy.livejournal.com]

I'm hurt that you think I'd be so obvious. Maybe I was at Leeds Festival, maybe I wasn't. But I doubt I'd fit into Nooks skin, even if I held my gut in. Nor am I as effortlessly offensive as he is, so I'd have been caught out immediately (-2 penalty for size, -2 for race, fairly hefty circumstance penalty and me without 5 ranks in bluff).

[kingandy]

I'm sure you have plenty of Bluff, it's a large part of the hobby. You'd at least get a synergy bonus...

[mrssshhh.livejournal.com]

This means you went to the dance tent whilst Mike Patton was expanding the boundaries of beatbox! YOU MUST TELL US WHAT IT WAS LIKE.

[kingandy]

Unfortunately I only peered briefly into the tent. As far as I can recall nobody was performing, but that may have been the red mist...